- Published: 21.10.2015.
Foreign minister, diplomats visit Opatovac refugee centre
(Hina) - Only upon seeing this situation can one fully understand what is being done here, what kind of job this is and why it is important to adopt Croatia's approach to the refugee crisis...
(Hina) - Only upon seeing this situation can one fully understand what is being done here, what kind of job this is and why it is important to adopt Croatia's approach to the refugee crisis, Foreign Minister Vesna Pusić said at the Opatovac refugee and migrant reception centre in eastern Croatia on Wednesday.
She visited the centre together with Interior Minister Ranko Ostojić and 35 members of the diplomatic corps accredited to Croatia.
Speaking to the press afterwards, she said she sent letters to her counterparts in Greece, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, Macedonia and Belgium on Monday and Tuesday, and that she talked with the German foreign minister by phone about handling the refugee crisis.
She said all those countries, except Belgium, were on the same refugee route and that instead of bickering they should coordinate the crisis together. "It's clear that we're all waiting for the agreement between the EU and Turkey to become operational and for stopping this tide in Turkey, but until that happens, we need cooperation more than quarrelling."
Pusić said European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker convened for Sunday a meeting of heads of state and government. She hoped that a concrete agreement would be reached on how to coordinate the handling of refugees and migrants.
A reporter noted that there were no representatives of the countries directly affected by the refugee crisis among the ambassadors today. Pusić said their representatives would attend the Brussels meeting and that his was encouraging. "They must redefine their approach to this problem and I assume they are preparing for Sunday."
Austrian Ambassador Andreas Wiedenhoff said he was impressed by what he saw at the reception centre and the care Croatia was providing refugees and migrants. He said Austria and Croatia closely cooperated in the handling of the refugee crisis and that their prime ministers talked on a daily basis. When we talk about refugees, we often talk about numbers and statistics, forgetting that they are people, women, children and families like us, he said.
Asked to comment on Slovenia's moves, Wiedenhoff said he could not, but that he understood the concern of every country faced with the refugee crisis because it was something they had not been faced with before.
Deputy US Ambassador Margaret Nardi thanked the Croatian authorities for everything they were doing for the refugees. The Croatian government's assistance is effective, this centre is an example of that and we wish to support everything the Croatian government is doing, she said.
Presentation can be viewed HERE